How will I know I'm being reviewed?

If you are being reviewed, you will get a letter or a telephone call from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) asking for information, receipts, or documents to support a claim you made on your income tax return.

If you're registered for email notifications, you will get an email notification telling you that you have new mail in My Account. Go to My Account right away to view your online letter.

What’s a review?

Reviews help make sure your tax return is accurate and that you are paying the correct amount of tax and getting the benefits and credits to which you are entitled, so that our tax system is fair for all Canadians. Reviews confirm that income amounts, deductions and credits are reported correctly, and can be properly supported.

It's important to know that a review is not a tax audit. In most cases, it's simply a routine check to ensure that the information you provided on your return is correct.

If you receive a letter or a phone call telling you that your income tax return is being reviewed, don't panic. We review approximately three million tax returns every year under our income tax review programs.

Respond in time

It's important that you reply and send all the information requested as soon as possible. This will help us review your file quickly. If you need help, we'll work with you to answer any questions or concerns you may have.

If you receive a request from us asking for documents or receipts, you should reply within the timeframe provided. We'll tell you how to send your documents. Make sure you include all the information we ask for, and that the copies of your documents are clear and easy to read. If you don't reply, we may adjust your tax return and your claim may be disallowed.

Keep your receipts and records

Keep all your tax documents for at least six years from the date you file your tax return. If you claimed expenses, deductions or tax credits, make sure you keep all your receipts and related documents in case we ask to see them.

Keep your personal information up to date with the CRA

To make sure you are getting our letters, notices and other important correspondence, make sure you let us know right away if you move or change your address. Updating your personal information is easy to do in My Account and MyCRA. If you're registered for email notifications, you should also tell us if your email address has changed.

We're here to help

Call the number provided in your letter if you can't get the documents we're asking for, have any questions, or if you need more time to reply. We can help and we can also give you more time to respond if you need it.

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Contacts

Media Relations
Canada Revenue Agency
613-948-8366
cra-arc.media@cra-arc.gc.ca